Simple Things
by Lady Phantasmagoric
Summary: When Madoka, a farmgirl from the Land of Grass, moves in with her grandparents in Konoha, she's in for a huge culture shock. Follow her through laughs, adventures, and many bowls of ramen. Shika and OC friendship, Naruto and OC friendship. T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Simple Things

_Chapter 1_

I don't have an interesting past. Not tortured, not tragic. Simple. Better than most, though, I probably worked a lot harder than the average civilian. Living on a farm all my life, I guess I grew up differently than most kids. I didn't really have a town… I lived in the Land of Grass, near the edge of the county. I guess I lived somewhere, but our family's small farm was about an hour's walk away from the nearest store. I don't think we had any neighbors, either… but that's beside the point.

So, yeah. I enjoyed my life. I like to ride horses in my spare time, I loved running through the vast fields on my family's property. What I didn't like was mucking out stalls. Or milking cows at five o'clock in the morning. (I'm not a morning person.) I think I took these things for granted… I never expected financial troubles to mess up my quaint little life. I can remember the sad, disappointed look on my mom and dad's faces, telling me that we had to move in with my Nana and Papa. Apparently, because we were a small, family owned farm, we couldn't sell our milk or grain for as cheap as, say, a large factory, or company-owned farm, with vast amounts of workers, and more land… we had to sell the farm and move on.

So here I am. In Konoha. My grandpa owns this ramen shop, Ichiraku Ramen (yes, that's my last name), and the entire complex above it. There is a medium-sized guest area on the top floor, with a couple bedrooms and a small kitchen, which is good. I'm starting school tomorrow. I thought it was a little soon, but my parents insisted over dinner that I don't fall behind in my studies. The school is really tiny, from what I hear. Since Konoha is a ninja village, most kids my age are ninja. Which, by the way, freaks me out. Fourteen year olds, or younger, be trained to kill? Yikes.

I sat up from the odd-smelling, floral-patterned bed in one of my grandparent's guest bedrooms and started pacing. For some reason, I pace when I'm feeling anxious or nervous. I was very nervous, by the way, about school the next day. I was about 8% excited, because of a fresh start. I could be anybody. I'd probably ends up being myself, though. I'm no good at pretending. The remaining 92% was nervousness. I had no idea what city people were like. Would the think my jeans were weird? Would they think I was freakishly tall?

I slumped on the bed to get a good night's sleep. At the very least, I shouldn't go to school tomorrow with giant circles under my eyes.

***

I stood rather awkwardly at the principal's office. Here to get my schedule and a map. I patted my crazy-curly red hair and looked around stiffly, shifting my weight from leg to the next. The secretaries were gathering my things, handing me a map, schedule, a faint "good luck", and I was off into the terrifying world of learning.

_This school is tiny. I don't even need the map. _I crumpled up the map and threw it into a nearby trashcan as I walked into my first class. No one really noticed; the class hadn't started yet, and most people were either just arriving on not there yet. I walked to the back of the room and went up to the teacher's desk.

"Um, hi. I'm Madoka Ichiraku… the new student." I spoke quietly, hoping to go unnoticed by my classmates.

"Ah, yes. You can call me Mr. H. Anyway, because you entered the school about halfway through the year, you're not caught up with the curriculum. I'm going to have to ask you to stay after class so I can explain the expectations and tell you what materials you need. Please, take a seat," he said normally, motioning to the back corner.

By this time, the students had taken their seats and were all staring at me. They were whispering, too… though, I suppose that's normal, me being a new student and all.

"Class, this is Madoka, a new student at this school. I expect you all to answer any questions she has and help her out as best you can. Now please, lets start the lesson," Mr. H commanded.

On the inside, I felt vulnerable and awkward. They were all so… different from me. First of all, I was about 6 inches taller than the tallest boy in the class. I didn't think I was _that _tall… I mean, in the Grass, most women were around my height, and men were even taller. I guess it has to do with race and ethnicity and whatnot… but still, 5'8" is not super tall for a fourteen year old. Also…I seemed…I don't know, bulkier than them. I mean, I'm not fat, but I'm not skinny, either. I had broad shoulders, prominent hips, and strong arms and legs, probably because I had worked on a farm for my entire life. They, however, were all… slim… poor-postured… smaller in general. I don't know why, but that annoyed me, for some reason. The hair was different, too. They all had dark brown or black hair, or some ridiculously unnatural hair color, like turquoise, for example. I stared at the annoyingly bright-haired guy sitting in front of my. Everyone's hair was stick-straight.

I tugged at the red spirals of hair on my neck, and sighed. Twenty-seven minutes into the school day, and I already felt like an outcast.

**A/N: Just so you know, this story will NOT be focused on Madoka's school life. I just felt it was necessary to show you more of Madoka's character. Any reviews are appreciated, though please try to give constructive criticism! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 2

I shouldn't have worn my new sandals that day; that much was obvious. I hadn't realized how dusty Konoha was. I had thought, _Hey, it's the city, I might as well wear stuff I can't wear at the farm. _And it was true; I couldn't wear sandals at the farm, unless I enjoyed the squishy feeling of manure between my toes.

However, dusty grit in between my toes was not much better. Honestly, it was _the city_, so they should at least have paved roads.

I walked in through the ramen shop, and was immediately ambushed by the savory aroma of salty noodles and teriyaki beef. However, the odors made me feel nauseous rather than hungry. After mumbling a quick "Hi" to Papa, I walked in through the 'Employees Only' door and up the stairs to the apartment above.

"I'm home!" I yelled, tossing my schoolbag onto the kitchen table.

"Hey," Mom said, leaning against the generic linoleum countertop. "How was your first day? Meet any friends?"

I felt my face contort into a grimace, but quickly changed my expression to a less ugly emotion. "Ummm… it was okay. Boring. The people are nice, I guess."

Mom seemed a little displeased with that answer, but she had more important thoughts on her mind. "So, honey, I have a favor to ask. Money, as you know, is really tight. That's why we had to leave the farm. So… it would be less of a burden on our family if you were to get a job. Obviously, this will be your money, but your father and I will expect you to use your own money to buy the nonessentials… you know, like if you want to rent movies, or buy ice cream for yourself or something."

I stared at her. Not blinking. Was _I _a "burden" on this family? Suddenly, I felt like crying. I looked down. I felt like such a brat, but… I didn't realize the problem was this bad.

"Grandpa will happily give you a job at Ichiraku's. It won't be hard! All you have to do is take orders and give people change! Grandpa does the cooking." She was pleading with me now, trying to make this work somehow. I glanced up at her.

"Fine…" I said. Ichiraku's only seated, like, five people anyway. It couldn't be that bad.

"Great! Go downstairs and talk to your grandfather… he can show you the ropes." I sighed. I was starting **now**? Ugh. At least _she _was happy.

I skipped down the stairs, jumping down two at a time. I burst into the kitchen and said, "Hey, Papa, apparently, I have a job here now." I shrugged.

"Hey, that's great! I was hoping you could work for the 'family business'," he winked.

"Yeah, okay, Papa. So… am I starting now? What exactly am I doing?" I questioned as Papa handed me a plain white apron and odd white hat.

"Well, you just take down the customer's orders, and clip them onto this thing. Don't even ask me what it's called," he said, pointing to a metal circle with clips attached, hanging over the ledge connecting the kitchen and behind the counter at the shop.

I nodded. This seemed simple enough.

"You also punch things in at the cash register. I don't think you'll have any problems with that. Also, when people order out, you package the food in these containers," he stated, pointing to a stack of white Styrofoam boxes in various sizes.

"Sounds good!" I said. This job seemed fairly easy (and dull), and plus, I could use the money I earned for whatever I wanted, like candy, or cookies, or ice cream, or chocolate…*

I tied the apron around my waist and neck, placed the odd white hat upon my head, and flipped the "closed" sign over to "open". I was ready for business.

Immediately, a yellow and orange blur whizzed up to the stand, sat on one of the stools, and promptly ordered a large miso ramen before I could utter a simple, "How may I help you?"

His annoyingly bright yellow hair was accompanied by an even more annoyingly bright orange jumpsuit. Though he looked a couple years younger than me (he was certainly short enough), he seemed cocky and proud. Some sort of silver headband was wrapped around his forehead, which he used to reflected sunlight in my eyes.

Huh. What an odd character. I didn't like him.

I scribbled down the order of ramen and hung it on the circle thing, which I thereby dubbed "the circle thing". He was the only one in the shop at the moment, which was understandable, since it was about 3:00 on a weekday, and there were only five stools on the counter of the stand.

I handed the boy his ramen. He couldn't have taken more than 30 seconds to gulp down the bowl. He roughly handed me the bowl and said, "I'll have another one. Keep them coming."

I was getting annoyed with this boy. I took the previous order I had written and hung on the circle thing, and drew a "times infinity"** symbol on it.

Papa glanced over at me with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged and pointed to the order again. He shrugged as well, and started to make the ramen.

The boy yelled, "Hey, Old Man Ichiraku, hurry up with the ramen!" He shined his headband in my eyes again, as if searing my corneas would somehow make ramen appear.

"What's with the headband?" I said, in a desperate attempt to relieve my pupils. He immediately stopped reflecting sunlight into my eyes and puffed up with pride.

"Oh, this? Well, it shows that I am one of Konoha's elite. All _ninjas_ have to wear them!" He shouted proudly, adding emphasis on _ninja_.

Konoha elite? I raised an eyebrow, though I couldn't help but be impressed. I had never met a real ninja before; though I hadn't expected a ninja to be like, well, _this_.

"Woah… really? Can you do flips and stuff?" I said, placating him.

"Yep," he said smugly. "Though, being an excellent ninja like myself, you have to do more than just flips. You have to go on missions and go undercover and that sort of thing. I happen to be excellent at everything in the way of the ninja."

"Don't let him fool you," Papa said, placing the boy's ramen on the ledge connecting the kitchen and the shop. "Naruto here is still a genin."

"Umm… do you expect me to know what that means?" I said sheepishly.

"Let Naruto explain it." Papa went back to making Naruto's infinite bowls of ramen.

"Ehmm, well… It means I'm a lower level ninja. But I am going to be Hokage someday. You'll see!" He shouted, pointing at me.

"Right." I still didn't know what a 'Hokage' was, but never mind.

"Never forget the name Uzumaki Naruto! Yeah!" He punched his fist into the air.

He was certainly an enthusiastic one. I handed him another bowl of ramen and said, "So, how old are you anyway?"

He was in mid-slurp of a particularly long noodle, but that didn't stop Naruto from answering me. "I'm twelve. How old are you?"

Wow. He was short for his age. Me being so tall, though, it might just be perspective. "I'm fourteen."

"Oh. You're tall," he observed, glancing up at me.

"Well, maybe you're just short," I scowled.

"Whatever. I'm done… can I have the bill?" He said, taking out an adorable frog wallet, looking rather dismayed as he peered inside.

I printed out his bill of four bowls of ramen. Yeesh. My eyebrows were raised as I handed him the bill. He grimaced and handed me several bills.

"Change?" I offered.

"Yeah."

I handed him his change, and her pointedly ignored the tip jar in front of him. I sighed, and he paused.

"Oh, by the way, what's your name?"

"It's Madoka."

As he stalked off, I turned away. I heard a clink and looked around, puzzled by the sound. In the tip jar, there were two coins still rolling on their edges.

***At least, that's what I would buy...**

****As in multiplied by [sideways 8]**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 3

I had been spending my last few days as a creeper. No, really. People don't notice me watching them, but I do.

There are several reasons why I have become a creeper:

My job is hopelessly boring and incredibly easy.

Ichiraku Ramen is conveniently located in the center of town, where a lot of interesting stuff happens.

I enjoy observing the many weird hairstyles and clothing that people wear. (Did you know that I've seen at least four people with green hair in the past two days?)

I'm just kind of creepy.

I had become familiar with the look and idea of a ninja. The older ones wear subtle clothing and green vests, which seem rather practical. The younger ones (I think they're called gonen? Genon? Genin? Something like that.) all wear very loud and impractical clothing. Seriously? Open-toed shoes? If I wore open-toed shoes back at the farm, I'd be missing a couple toes. In fact, the only way I was able to tell that they were ninja was because of the silver headband.

Not many ninja eat at Ichiraku Ramen. The customer base is mostly civilians and children with their parents, so there is not a lot of interesting observations regarding customers.

So, every day for the past week, after I get home from school (I still haven't made any friends), I pull back my hair, tie up my apron, and paste a smile on my face for work, and resume my creeping on the innocent citizens of Konoha.

Actually, my most interesting observations have come from creeping on Naruto. I had been observing him for several days now, ever since he first came into Ichiraku's and left me a puny tip.

Usually, he was by himself, just kind of wandering. When he wasn't by himself, he was with these three little kids. One had a scarf, the other had glasses, and the girl had an almost comical hairstyle of orange pigtails. All three wore goggles. Most of the time, when I saw him with the children, all I could think was,_ Wow, he's cool. He hangs with kindergarteners_.

I had also seen him with a few other people, all with rather interesting hair. Seriously, this town is giving me a hair fetish. Anyway, there was a boy, who looked around Naruto's age. He seemed rather boring, though he was kinda cute, in an odd, Oh-my-god-he's-twelve sort of way. There was a pink-haired, scrawny, pre-pubescent girl, too.

I am so glad I'm not twelve.

In addition, there was a grey-haired man, but he didn't seem old. I don't know how else to explain it.

After several days of watching him from the shadows, he finally came into Ichiraku's again, this time, dragging along his two friends and that man. Why was that man with them, anyway? Was he a stalker as well?

"…and then, he ate it! The whole thing!" Naruto shouted back at his friends, obviously finishing up some epic story of his, though I couldn't imagine the context of the last line… or could I?

Anyways. Resuming the story.

"Yeah, right. Look, you dragged us here, so can we just eat without your annoying voice screaming in our ears?" Wow. That was a little harsh, Pinky.

"Hi, what would you like?" I said cheerily to my stalk-ee and his friends.

"Yeah, uhmm… I want a large pork ramen," Naruto said, scratching his head.

"I'd like a small miso ramen, please," Pinky stated in a polite, disinterested way.

"Same here," Cute Boy said.

I turned to the gray-haired man and waited for his order, but after a couple seconds of silence, I tore the sheet of paper with the orders off the pad and clipped it to the circle thing.

Since there were no other customers, I went back into the kitchen to help Papa. Soon, the ramen was ready, so I placed the bowls on a tray and brought it back out the hungry customers.

As I set down the ramen in front of them, they immediately dug into the steaming noodles. Naruto had not shown that he recognized me in any way. I began to wonder why, when I realized that although I was a creepy stalker, he was most likely not. He had no reason to remember me.

I went into the kitchen to see if Papa needed me, but alas, there were no take-out orders at the moment, and our only customers had already received their ramen.

I walked lethargically out to the stand; I didn't want to just be standing there doing nothing while they chatted. I was fine with being a creeper from afar, but up close, it was just a little awkward.

I folded my arms across my chest and leaned against the ledge separating the kitchen from behind the counter. I blankly stared at a boiling pot of water in the kitchen, completely zoning out. I snapped out of the trance when I heard my name being called, not by Papa, but by Naruto. Huh. So he did remember me.

"Madoka! Madoka! You know who I am, right?! You know how great a ninja I am, right?" he shouted, as if the answer had great importance.

Suddenly, all of his friends' eyes were on me. I felt my face heating up form being put on the spot. "Uh, yeah. But I thought you were a genin?" I said in an uncertain manner.

Pinky looked smug. "Ha! Even she knows that you're just a genin!"

"Um, I'm right here," I said.

"Oh, whatever. At least she knows who I am! Even the civilians of Konoha know who I am! Anyways, you shouldn't talk; you're a genin, too!" Naruto was still shouting at Pinky, with a scowl on his face.

It didn't appear they had anything else to say to me as they continued to bicker. I glanced at the other two ninjas with him. Cute Boy looked annoyed, but wasn't paying attention to me. Grey Guy gave me a knowing look and rolled his, well, eye. I gave him an exasperated look as well.

The three ramen bowls were empty, so I snatched them and put them in the dishwasher in the kitchen. I went to the cash register and printed out the receipt. I held it out to the four, uncertain as of whom to give it to. The man took it with a quiet "Thanks".

I was handed the money in exact change, and a dollar was placed in my wimpy tip jar by the counter.

Naruto shouted, "Bye Madoka!" as he and his friends walked off.

I shook me head. What a weirdo. What was with him? Ignore me one minute, shout at me the next. I suspected Bipolar disorder was to blame.

***

Omniscient POV

"Hey, Naruto, do you know the ramen girl back there?" Sakura inquired as they skulked away from the shop.

"Oh, yeah, Madoka and I go way back." Naruto casually put his hands behind his head in an odd pose that only Naruto could pull off.

"Yeah, about that, you probably shouldn't put her on the spot like that. Or anyone, for that matter. I thought she was going to have a heart attack or something," Kakashi interjected.

"Whatever. She's a civilian; who cares? Can we just get started on this mission?" Sasuke muttered darkly. He was talking about the mission the D-ranked mission they had been assigned the day before. They had to baby-sit some old people starting in the afternoon, which is why Naruto had the bright idea to go to lunch beforehand.

Naruto was _going _to pay, but "accidentally" left his wallet at home. Kakashi threatened him upon pain of death to pay him back ASAP, so he bought lunch this one time.

"I agree with Sasuke! Let me get out my copy of the mission sheet— ah, I left my bag at the ramen shop." Sakura said, looking around her and patting her leg pouch. "Ugh, Naruto, if you hadn't gotten me so worked up, I wouldn't have forgotten it!"

"Just go get it. And be quick," Kakashi commanded, annoyed.

Sakura ran back to Ichiraku Ramen, looking frantically around the seat she had been sitting in. Her bag was not there.

"Looking for this?" A female voice said.

Sakura looked up. Ramen girl, or Madoka, was holding a brown bag with a long shoulder strap on it.

"Thanks so much," Sakura said, relieved, and took the bag. She looked more closely at Ramen girl. "It's… Madoka, right? That's what Naruto called you."

Madoka smiled. "Uhhh, yeah, that's me."

"Sorry that Naruto put you on the spot before. He can be such a pain, right?" Sakura gave a short, apologetic laugh.

"Ah, he's not that bad… what's your name?"

"It's Sakura."

"Well, nice to meet you, Sakura."

"Same here. I have to go… ninja stuff, y'know? Well, actually, I guess not," Sakura said sheepishly.

"Right. Bye!" Madoka fake-smiled, and then turned away. She realized that she didn't really like Sakura. _I should probably be more sociable if I want to make friends,_ Madoka thought as she wiped up the counter.

***

Madoka's POV

Later that night, as I was getting ready for bed, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

My vibrant red spirals were coming out of the ponytail I had wrestled my locks into before work. My normally pale face, splattered with freckles, was pink from standing and being near hot food all day. My gray tank top was clingy from sweat, since I had helped Papa move a large shipment of noodles into the kitchen from the wagon for the past hour.

Yuck. No wonder everyone was so unfriendly today. Except for Grey Guy, but he was hanging around/stalking the twelve-year olds, so he's probably nice to all kids. The perv. Not that I was one to talk, me being a professional creeper and all.

I sighed (I seemed to be doing that a lot lately) and jumped into my bed. I dreamt of pink-haired ramen.

**A/N: Keep reading and reviews are appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do, however, own Madoka.

Chapter 4

I stared blankly into the fridge. A half-opened bottle of mustard. An old takeout box. Twenty containers of pre-made ramen. And, last but not least, a jar of pickle juice with a single dill pickle (half-eaten) floating in it.

I decided it was time to go shopping.

After removing fifty dollars from the 'Food Money' jar, I slipped on my shoes and scampered out the door.

As I walked into the supermarket down the street, I contemplated what to get. Bread? Duh. Waffle mix? Of course. Orange juice? Yup. Tampons? Definitely.

I picked up a basket and walked aimlessly around the store, taking my time. I liked this place. It felt calm, cool, and relaxing. Maybe it was weird to find supermarkets relaxing; but the elevator music playing over the loudspeaker was just so… soothing.

As I walked down the "feminine hygiene" aisle (that euphemism amuses me), I felt a ball of dread in the pit of my stomach as I heard the loud, annoying voice of… Naruto.

"…this is so stupid! Why don't they have their own shampoo?! Seriously… you'd think a place that has that many animals would at least have—"

"Naruto, just shut up! God, your voice is like scratching nails on a chalkboard!" Sakura shouted at him. Well, at least we could agree on that.

But I still couldn't let them see me. I switched my attention over to the shampoo and soap lining the wall opposite of the tampons. I pulled my hair out of my ponytail so it could cover my face (and hide my blush) and tried to walk quickly, yet nonchalantly to the next aisle.

"Hey—Madoka! Hey!" Naruto waved furiously in my direction. I turned, gave a quick wave, and then kept walking. "Hey! Wait up!" Naruto ran up to me.

"Oh, hi, Naruto." I gave a small grin. "Um, what are you doing here?" I tried to say casually, as if he hadn't ambushed me in the middle of picking out tampons.

"Oh, just buying shampoo with my team. We got another mission; and we have to wash like twenty dogs or something. The place said they didn't have any, but I think they were scamming us into buying them shampoo. Do you think they can use people shampoo? Anyways, this mission is so stupid! I hate D-ranked missions. I want to escort like a princess or something! Or fight other ninja! Wouldn't that be so cool? I would totally kick the other guy's ass, don't you think? So, what are you doing here?" He blabbed, all in one breath. I must say, I was impressed.

"Buying stuff." My response was almost comically short compared to Naruto's rant.

"Oh. Well, I was wondering if you would wanna come see this spar. It's between all of the newly graduated genin, to show their progress or something to family and friends. I don't have any family, so I thought I'd invite all my friends! You, Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, and Iruka-sensei are coming."

That was a little random. I mean, we had talked a little over the past few days. It turns out we live pretty close together (he lives on the next street over), and I sometimes see him in the morning when he's going to a mission and I'm going to school. Still, though, we weren't exactly super tight (though he was the closest thing I had to a friend in this place).

But hell, why not?

"Sure. Sounds like fun. I can't wait to see your ninja-tastic powers," I said with a grin and a wink.

Naruto pumped his fist in the air and gave a loud "Yeah!"

"Woah, Naruto, calm down. No big deal. Did someone forget to take their medication this morning?" I said, waggling my finger at him.

He stuck his tongue out and said, "Shut up! I don't take medication!"

I rolled my eyes and waved my hand over my head. "Well, you should probably get back to your team. Uh, when is the thing?"

"It's tomorrow, at 2:00, in training ground 4. Since parents and other people like you will be there, they'll have signs up and stuff. Do you know where the park is?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it's like right next to that. I think there'll be arrows or something. So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Naruto said expectantly and assuredly.

His vague directions worried me. "Mmhmm. Bye!" I waved and he walked up to his team, who had already selected a shampoo (for dogs!) and was ready to pay and leave. I shuffled around a bit, waiting until before they were out of sight before grabbing a box of tampons and some deodorant. _Phfeww._

Now, what the hell was I doing tomorrow?

***

I looked around at the people sitting around me. Well, this was awkward.

When Naruto said that there would be family of other ninjas and parents there, I made the mistake of thinking that the other's ninja's parents would be normal. Needless to say, I was very wrong.

First of all, I assumed more people would be there than there actually was. I learned from Naruto that there were nine rookie genin in total, so I assumed that the entire family for each ninja would be there. However, there were only six or seven other parents there. And they were rather freaky. The woman who sat next to me had a wild look and a giant dog with an eye patch_. A freaking eye patch. _

The other people besides parents who were there were the eight year olds Naruto chills with, and their sensei (who, I guess, was Iruka). Every single person (besides me) was a ninja.

I wanted to melt into the ground. I was wearing my regular jeans and sneakers, though I had no shiny metal headband like everyone else. Well, the kids didn't, but they were like, seven years old. I leaned up against a tree on the outskirts of the small field that the spar would take place in. Truth be told, though I was a little embarrassed, I was kind of excited for this duel thing. I was easily impressed, and I had always heard stories as a kid about ninjas and their kick-assness*. I wasn't sure if my friends had been telling the truth about ninjas, but if they were, that would be awesome.

/FLASHBACK TIME/

_My eight-year-old self widened her eyes in awe. "Woah! Really?!"_

_My best friend at the time, Aya, nodded solemnly. "It's true. They can also make clones of themselves in an instant! Like that!" She snapped her fingers, as to demonstrate how fast they could create a clone of themselves. "And," she continued, dropping her voice to a whisper, "they get to leave school at age twelve, and their job is to kill people!"_

_I shook my head in disbelief. "I wish I could leave school at twelve."_

_The annoying, icky boy in my class named Benjiro pushed his way into the conversation. "Yeah, and they also move their hands around real fast and cool stuff can happen! Like, this one time, me and my dad went to the Hidden Village to visit relatives, and my cousin was a ninja! He twisted up his fingers in this, like, combination thing, and lighted the candles on the dinner table with no matches or anything. It was so cool! And after dinner, me and him raced, and even though he was only like a year older than me, he was mega-fast!"_

_Even though that story was really cool, he was icky, and a boy, so Aya and I pushed him away._

_After recess, though, I ran up to him and told him I liked his story, but I ran away before anyone could see us together._

/END FLASHBACK/

I chuckled at the memory and how immature I was. Suddenly, my attention returned to the field where there were these nine kids and their senseis.

Gray-haired guy cleared his throat, and spoke to the people standing in front of me (I was in the back of the group). "Thanks for coming today. As you know, since these guys are brand-new genin, we have to show their progress and how their skills have improved since being at the Academy. This year, we've decided to have them spar in random pairings to show you how their individual techniques have improved when facing others."

He picked two names out of the hat. "First off, Aburame Shino versus Haruno Sakura."

I scanned the field to see who would be going against each other. It was Pinky (actually, it was Sakura, but I preferred to call her Pinky), who was part of Naruto's group, and a guy with sunglasses and a big coat. I measured up the two, guessing who would win. Let's see. Pinky had long, pretty hair, skinny arms and legs, and was wearing a dress over bike shorts. The other guy, whom I could honestly not find an adjective to describe, was wearing a big gray coat, and practical dark cargo capris. Hmm. Looks like Pinky was going to lose.

"Go!" I heard Gray guy shout. Pinky immediately leaped ten feet into the air and threw some spinny metal things (which I think were called shuriken, since there was a shop for them next door to Ichiraku's) at her opponent. He dodged it, although he barely moved. Pinky landed on her feet and tossed another pointy object at him. He moved up his arm to block it… wait. There was something covering his entire arm. Something moving, though it wasn't all one solid object. I squinted my eyes in order to discern what was on his arm. Suddenly, as more crawled across his face, I realized what they were. _Bugs._

I gave an audible gasp. That was so nasty! How was he going to win against her with bugs? Gross her out to death?

The fierce-looking woman beside me noticed my gasp and smirked. She leaned her head a little towards mine and said, "He's from the Aburame clan. They control chakra-eating bugs, given that they let the bugs inhabit their body."

I nodded wordlessly, not wanting to seem like an idiot by asking what chakra was.

Needless to say, Shino succeeded, in winning against Sakura and in thoroughly grossing me out.

As the matches continued, I was amazed over and over again by the skills of these kids. It also drained my confidence a little. I mean, back in the Grass, I was the fastest person in my grade. Okay, okay, so there were only forty people in my grade, but I would still always win in races, even against the boys.

These kids, these_ twelve-year-olds_, however, made my speed look like that of a blind, handicapped slug. Who was just sprinkled with salt.

Getting back to the competition. I watched in amazement as a boy with spiky hair and a fishnet shirt beat a boy with red triangles on his cheeks, like the woman sitting next to me. When the match ended, all of the other spectators and I gave a much-deserved round of applause.

Now, it was Naruto's turn. "Uzumaki Naruto versus Akimichi Chouji."

This was the round I was really looking forward to. Naruto's three little friends yelled various cheers, and even I gave a little yell for him.

Naruto walked out into the center of the field, along with a slightly overweight ninja. This ninja, Chouji, wore his headband in a way oddly similar to stretching underwear over one's head, and had pinky swirls on his cheeks. I had already decided that I liked him.

But, Naruto was my friend, and I wanted him to win.

Suddenly, Naruto jumped up and flipped his hands in a precise, but very fast, sequence. He shouted something that I couldn't quite catch, and then, there were four Narutos in the air. My eyes were wide as the clones all took out some shuriken and hurled them at Chouji. But, he was already ahead of the game. Chouji had swelled up like a balloon, to the size of—well, I can't think of anything that large and spherical, so let's just say he was like a giant beach ball, or perhaps a pumpkin.

Chouji rolled—yes, rolled—out of the shuriken's way and came speeding towards Naruto, whose clones had disappeared. Just as Naruto was about to be crushed by this giant beach ball, not unlike Indiana Jones (wait—who is Indiana Jones?), there was a small poof, and Naruto was gone. Chouji smashed into the tree directly behind Naruto, or what we thought was Naruto, and he was back to the regular Chouji, rubbing the back of his head. Before he had a chance to get up, the real Naruto sprang forth from another tree and bumped the back of Chouji's head with the base of a knife. Chouji slumped forward.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."

And with that, the duels were over. I ran up to Naruto as he was walking to the edge of the field, holding out my hand for a high-five. He complied with a grin.

"Wow, Naruto, that was great! Ninjas are so cool!" I said enthusiastically, even though I sounded like a simpleton.

"Yeah, I know. It was pretty awesome," he said, puffing up his chest. But, my attention to him slipped away as I saw Sakura walking past us, heading towards a woman with a similar shade of pink hair.

"Hey, uh, nice try, Sakura," I said rather lamely. I didn't like her very much, but that didn't mean I was going to be a jerk.

"Oh, thanks!" She said, obviously not expecting the praise.

I stared at her for a second. "You have the most beautiful eyes," I blurted out. Oops. Well, it was true; her eyes were a lovely shade of green. "Yours too, Naruto," I said quickly, so she wouldn't think I was coming on to her or something. I felt like a total creeper, once again, but they both had very pretty and vibrant eyes. I had to say something.

"Uhhh…" her face was confused and a little freaked out. Naruto looked the same. "Thanks?"

"Haha, sorry, I just kinda blurted that out… sorry, I do stuff like that a lot." I said quickly, in a friendly, apologetic tone.

"Hey, no problem. Want to go get lunch?" Naruto said in a very Naruto-like fashion; apparently he was over my fleeting weirdness.

"Depends. Who will pay, and where do you have in mind?" I inquired.

"Well… is it alright that we each pay for ourselves? I mean, I was planning to invite a couple other people… and how about we go to Ichiraku's?!" Naruto said.

"I'm cool with the first part, but no freaking way on the second. I work there for five days out of the week, and I've had enough ramen in the past two weeks to get a heart attack at age twenty-five. Plus, the chef is my grandpa, so he would probably try to butt in the conversation."

"Whoa! I didn't know your last name was Ichiraku! Do you think you could get us free ramen?!" He said with puppy dog eyes.

"Not a chance."

"Well, how about we go to that barbeque place up the street? Chouji, Shikamaru, and Ino are going there, so we might run into them," he suggested.

Hmmm. Barbeque. "Sure, why not?" I could use this chance to meet new people, at the least.

And so, we walked out of the field and into the city part of Konoha, where we frolicked down the streets to go eat some barbeque.

*The computer is telling me that this is not a word, but I have decided to make it one. So deal with it.

**A/N: So, I don't really like this chapter, on a whole. I hope you understood the Indiana Jones reference, and I hope you won't be too mad that I used that allusion even though there is no Indiana Jones in the Narutoverse. Anyways, I don't really like this chapter… I suck at describing fight scenes, and the transitions were a little awkward, IMO. But if you liked it, hey, I'm fine with that! So, keep reading and reviewing!**


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